Detail:

8:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.Panel I: Reforming Patent Doctrines:
The Supreme Court and Its Role in the ProcessHillcrest Room, Underwood Law Library

Many of the Supreme Court’s recent patent cases reconsider longstanding patent law doctrines. This panel will analyze the cases from the Court’s last term that address fee shifting and the definiteness requirement, and one from the Court’s current term that addresses the appropriate standard of review of claim construction decisions. In the context of these cases, this panel will also address the larger issue of the proper role of the Court in addressing problems perceived to plague patent law: the high cost of litigation, poor patent quality, and uncertainty.

This panel will discuss in depth the Supreme Court’s recent decision in American Broadcasting System v Aereo, which was the most widely followed Supreme Court decision in the area of copyright law in past three decades. The case involved a complicated technological system for transmitting copyrighted television programs without first obtaining a license from the copyright owners. The panel will examine the Court’s interpretation of the public performance right and the transmission clause leading to the invalidation of Aereo’s system, along with Justice Scalia’s dissent.

In this luncheon presentation, we will hear from Harold C. Wegner, currently a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP and a former law professor and director of the Intellectual Law Program at the George Washington University Law School. He will discuss how actions taken by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have triggered grants of writs of certiorari by the Supreme Court in patent cases. He will also explain how litigants in patent cases have become more sophisticated in gaining review at the Supreme Court.

In wake of the flurry of IP activity at the Supreme Court, what does the future hold? This panel will discuss best practices, legislative proposals for new laws, and preview upcoming controversies in patent law. This discussion will include consideration of the Court’s recent decisions affecting the law governing what subject matter is eligible for patenting and divided or joint infringement of patents, two issues that are certain to prove challenging moving forward.

Note: This event is FREE for SMU students, faculty, and staff. Check your student, faculty or staff e-mail account (e-mail will come from Debbie Seiter) for the link to register for this event. Contact rbell@smu.edu for additional assistance. Seating is limited for this event; you will be contacted by the Dean's Office to confirm attendance.